Free: The Future of a Radical Price
by Chris Anderson
(Hyperion, 2009)
Anderson proposes that “new free” goes beyond any marketing gimmick and sets the table for the growth of reputation economy with new methods of generating the power of free. He emphasizes ideas for competition when your competitors are giving away what you are trying to sell. Being an independent bookseller and facing the current $8.99 price war of bestsellers, it’s easy to understand why I picked this book up.
“New free” is not about “when you hear the word free, you reach for your wallet mentally.” “New free” is about providing an authentic service in a free way that might lead the customer to spend money indirectly.
Example: Lemuria Blog is a free information tool to help our readers to find the right book to read. Adding to our customer service, we hopefully lead our readers to the right reads. Using the Lemuria Blog can save wasted reading time, improve reading choices, and prevent misspent book-buying dollars. Being hypnotized by cheaply priced books may waste valuable reading time that can’t be replaced.
Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail and editor in chief of Wired magazine, relates what he observes now and predicts for the future in a most readable way. He understands the origins of free and how recent marketing has been used to produce business growth.
Free is a a useful book for anyone with an interest in the small business.
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